SETTING THE STAGEIndiana State continues year three of the Trent Miles Era on Saturday, Oct. 2, take a break from conference play to take on Quincy. Saturday's game is set for a 5:05 p.m. (ET) kickoff at Memorial Stadium (12,734). The game will be carried live on ESPN Radio (1130 and 1300 AM), with Brian Fritz and Ernie Thompson calling the action for the Nelligan Sports Marketing Radio Network. Action can be heard live worldwide on GoSycamores.com. The game will also be televised worldwide on Sycamore Vision on a pay-per-view basis. Calling the action for Sycamore Vision will be Vaso Michels and Joey O'Rourke. To watch the game, viewers will need to purchase a subscription on GoSycamores.com. ISU will also be running a live blog on GoSycamores.com and will be providing regular updates at facebook.com/Sycamores as well as twitter.com/IndStAthletics.

THE QUINCY SERIESQuincy leads the all-time series against Indiana State with a 1-0 record. Quincy won the only previous meeting between the two schools on August 27, 2009 when they downed ISU by the score of 26-20 in overtime at Memorial Stadium.

QUICK HITS- Indiana State is looking for its first season with multiple home victories with a win over Quincy since 2004 when ISU took down three opponents at Memorial Stadium.- The Sycamores have not downed consecutive opponents at home since winning three in a row (Murray State, UT-Martin and Illinois State) en route to a 4-1 start to the 2004 campaign.

An Indiana State Win Over Quincy Would ...• Give Indiana State consecutive home victories over non-conference foes for the first time since winning six in a row from 2002 till 2004. ISU downed Cumberland, Murray State (twice), Florida International, Eastern Illinois and UT-Martin in succession at Memorial Stadium during that span.• Improve the Sycamores to a perfect 2-0 at home this season, giving the program multiple home wins in the same season for the first time since 2004 when ISU took down three victims at Memorial Stadium that season.• Give ISU its best start to the season through four games since starting 3-1 in 2004.• Be ISU's first victory over the Hawks in the history of the program.

The Indiana State Head CoachIndiana State is led by head coach Trent Miles, a 1987 ISU graduate and Terre Haute native. Miles made his head coaching debut in 2008 against Eastern Michigan and carries a record of 2-24 into Saturday. Miles is 1-1 against the Leathernecks, and is 1-15 against members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Quincy Head Coach Quincy is led by 11th-year head coach Bill Terlisner who is 43-69 at the helm of the program. Terlisner is 1-0 against Indiana State and is 1-7 against members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Scouting The HawksQuincy is 0-4 so far in 2010, dropping its season opener at MVFC member Southern Illinois by the score of 70-7. Quincy has gone on to drops contests on the road against Walsh and William Penn on the road as well as last week versus St. Xavier in their home opener. Quincy is led by Southern Illinois transfer Bobby Brenneisen, who is 62-of-114 passing for 600 yards and six touchdowns this season.

A Little HistoryThis marks the 106th season of football at Indiana State, dating back to 1896. The University did not field teams from 1899 to 1900, 1908 or from 1910 to 1919. ISU owns an all-time record of 340-467-22 and is competing for the 25th consecutive season as a member of the MVFC.

Whats TranspiredIndiana State won its season opener with a 57-7 decision over St. Joseph's (Ind.) on Sept. 4. The Sycamores scored the game's first 23 points against the Pumas en route to the 50 point victory. ISU was led by senior Darrius Gates who finished with 160 rushing yards while freshman Shakir Bell burst onto the scene with 133 yards on the ground in his Sycamore debut. ISU trailed just 12-7 at halftime at two-time defending BIG EAST Champion Cincinnati en route to falling 40-7. Ronnie Fouch found 11 different receivers as he finished 23-of-38 passing for 161 yards and a touchdown pass to Alex Jones. Indiana State dropped its Missouri Valley Football Conference opener at Western Illinois by the score of 40-7 on a sloppy track in Macomb, Ill. ISU was led by Brock Lough who compiled 38 muddy yards on the ground and scored the lone ISU touchdown of the contest with his 1-yard run in the third quarter.

For Valley OpenersIndiana State fell to 1-12 all-time in Missouri Valley Football Conference openers on the road with its 40-7 defeat at Western Illinois. ISU is also now 6-19 in Valley openers overall. ISU's only win in a conference opener on the road remains a 10-7 victory in Macomb back in 1996.

Looking For The First "W" Over The HawksISU will be looking to earn his first victory in the history of the program this week over Quincy when the two teams battle at Memorial Stadium. The Sycamores dropped a tough 26-20 overtime decision to the Hawks in 2009 at Memorial Stadium in the first meeting between the two programs.

Pass Defense Has Been KeyOne of the key matchups for the Sycamores and Leathernecks was the ability to stop the WIU passing game, which came into the matchup leading the Valley. The Indiana State defense was first in the league in pass defense. The Sycamores held the Leathernecks to just 19 passing yards, but it was the WIU rushing offense that led them to a 40-7 victory. Following the contest, ISU is allowing just 95.7 passing yards per game which is still tops in the league and ranks third nationally.

Lough Was A Highlight For ISU At Western IllinoisJunior running back Brock Lough scored the Sycamores' lone touchdown at Western Illinois. He finished the game with seven rushes for 38 yards and a touchdown in Macomb. Lough gave the Sycamore offense life by breaking off three consecutive rushes of over 10 yards in the third quarter to move the chains down to the one-yard line with ISU trailing 27-0. Lough barreled into the end zone on his fourth consecutive rush for the ISU touchdown. Lough also caught one pass in the contest.

"Ben" There, Done ThatSophomore defensive lineman Ben Obaseki tallied 10 total tackles for the Sycamores at Western Illlinois on a sloppy track in Macomb, Ill. He also added one tackle for loss in the contest.

Fouch Doing It All At Western IllinoisJunior transfer quarterback Ronnie Fouch punted for ISU a total of three times at Western Illinois and was a perfect 3-for-3 in pinning the Leathernecks inside their own 20-yard line, including twice inside the WIU five. His three punts traveled a total of 116 yards, for a team-high average of 38.7 yards per punt, including a long of 43 yards. Fouch also was 6-of-17 passing for 52 yards in the contest.

Seeing DoubleIndiana State has dropped back-to-back contests at Cincinnati and Western Illinois by identical scores of 40-7. It marked the first time since the 1997 campaign that ISU has been involved in contests that ended with the same score in consecutive games. The Sycamores fell 21-14 to both Eastern Illinois and Western Kentucky in the ninth and tenth games of 1997.

Sycamores In The Valley And National RankingsISU leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference in pass defense by allowing just 95.67 yards per game through the air, a number which also ranks third nationally. The Sycamores are also showing some strength on the offensive line as they are allowing just .75 sacks per game, which is second in the league behind Youngstown State and is tied for 17th in the country. Additionally, ISU's pass efficiency defense is 87.37 which is third in the league and ranks 24th in the nation. The Sycamores are averaging 31.2 yards of punt return yardage per game which is third in the league and is 25th nationally.

Individually Ranked As WellDarrius Gates leads the Sycamore rushing attack with an 83.67 yards per game average, which is eighth in the conference and is 42nd nationally. Ronnie Fouch's pass efficiency ranking of 92.37 is eighth in the league and 98th in the country. Fouch is also averaging 110.67 yards of total offense per game, which is eighth in the MVFC. CJ Ullysse picked off a Matt Barr pass at Western Illinois, so his .33 interceptions per game average is tied for fifth in the league and is tied for 82nd nationally. Santino Davis is punting for a 37.44 yard average which is seventh in the MVFC and is tied for 63rd in the country. Darrius Gates continues to rank high in scoring as his 6.00 points per game average is tied for ninth in the league and tied for 77th in the nation. Rod Hardy is averaging .67 sacks per game, which is tied for fifth in the conference and tied for 47th nationally while Ben Obaseki's mark of .50 sacks per game is tied for eighth in the league and tied for 79th in the country. Obaseki also ranks high tackles for loss and his 1.17 tackles behind the line of scrimmage per game is tied for seventh in the conference and ranks in a tie for 65th nationally.

Bell's Best Sycamore DebutFreshman tailback Shakir Bell rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown in his collegiate debut against St. Joseph's (Ind.) Those 133 yards are the most ever by a Sycamore in his first game and is the third-most by a Sycamore in a season opener. Bell's 25-yard scoring run opened the fourth quarter as ISU continued to build on its advantage over the Pumas. Bell also added a 38-yard rush in the effort as he averaged over 12 yards per carry.

Gates And Bell Each Reach 100-Yard Rushing MarkSenior Darrius Gates and freshman Shakir Bell became the first Sycamore duo since the 2004 campaign to each reach the 100-yard rushing mark in the same game when they accomplished that feat against St. Joseph's (Ind.). Gates had 160 yards on the ground while Bell posted 133 matching the double 100-yard rushing efforts of Sidney Montfort and Jake Shields in 2004 against UT-Martin.

Rushing For DaylightIndiana State posted a total of seven rushing touchdowns in the season opener against St. Joseph's - a new school record. ISU reached pay dirt a total of eight times, just one shy of the overall record set against West Virginia Tech in 1994. ISU got three rushing scores from Gates and one each from Bell, George Cheeseborough, Bryant Kent and Rod Hardy. Hardy starts on defense for the Sycamores and scored his second career rushing touchdown after posting his first last season against Northern Iowa.

Block PartyJustin Hilton posted the Sycamores' lone non-rushing touchdown of the 57-7 season opening victory over St. Joseph's (Ind.) when he blocked a punt in the waning seconds of the first half and recovered the football in the end zone for his first career score as a Sycamore. Hilton came around the left side of the line of scrimmage, laid out for the ball, caught it with his outstretched hands and pounced on the football in the end zone to give ISU a 30-7 advantage heading into the half. Hilton's play marked the first time a Sycamore had blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown since Donye McCleskey did so in his first collegiate contest against Purdue in 2006.

Gates And Bell Earn National Mentions For Opening Week PerformancesDarrius Gates and Shakir Bell were named to the honorable mention list for the National FCS Running Back Of The Week Award as announced by the College Football Performance Awards following the season opener against St. Joseph's. The CFPA provides the most scientifically rigorous conferments in college football. Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams. Gates broke the school record for rushing yards in a season opener with 160 and three touchdowns while Bell set a new ISU collegiate debut rushing record with 133 yards on the ground versus SJC. Bell also scored a touchdown for the Sycamores. The duo of Gates and Bell became the first Sycamore pair since 2004 to each reach 100 yards rushing in the same game with their performance against St. Joseph's.

Preseason SelectionsIndiana State sophomore Aaron Archie and junior Rod Hardy each garnered Preseason All-Missouri Valley Football Conference mentions as announced by the league office before the start of fall camp. The Sycamores were picked to finish ninth in the MVFC this season.

Darrius Gates Named Preseason All-AmericanIndiana State senior Darrius Gates has been named to the College Sporting News FCS All-American Second Team at the end of the summer. All14 FCS Conferences as well as 58 schools and 99 student-athletes nationwide were represented on one of the three squads. CSN is the largest news organization exclusively covering the FCS at CollegeSportingNews.com and ChampionshipSubdivisionNews.com.

Last season he was an All-MVFC Honorable Mention selection as a return specialist. In addition to his exploits as a running back, he tallied 514 yards on kickoff returns in 19 attempts, averaging 27.1 yards per return, including a season-best 57-yarder against Eastern Illinois. His kickoff return average led the MVFC and was ranked fifth nationally. His 82.2 all-purpose yards per game was 12th-best in the league.

The National Eye Indiana State junior kicker Brett Sheldon, who was born with a physical handicap, was featured this summer on an episode of The Dr. Phil Show titled "Driven To Succeed." Sheldon walked on to the team in the spring and is listed on the team's depth chart out of preseason camp. During the Dr. Phil Show he was featured along with New Orleans Saints head coach -- and former Sycamore assistant -- Sean Peyton. The Dr. Phil film crew was inside Memorial Stadium during the Spring Game and footage of the Sycamores' spring scrimmage was featured on the national television program.

Sycamores In The ProsTwo former Sycamores played in NFL Preseason contests this fall. Donye McCleskey played in one preseason contest for the Indianapolis Colts where he made a trio of tackles while Jamie Petrowski played in a pair of preseason contests with the Carolina Panthers. Former Sycamore DeJuan Alfonzo plays for the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League and was named the 2010 Ironman Of The Year.

Few SeniorsIndiana State has just eight players on its roster who are seniors. Of those, Darrius Gates and Pat Burke are fifth-year seniors, while Milton Redwine, Bryant Kent, Josh Jellison and Nate Brown are in their fourth year. Jordan Scott and Larry Lacotti transferred into the Sycamore program and are in their final season as well.

In OvertimeThe Sycamores have played in 11 overtime contests since the rule was established for regular season games in the NCAA FCS Subdivision in 1996. The Sycamores are 6-5 in games that have used an extra period. ISU's last overtime victory came in the form of a 41-38 victory over Illinois State in 2004. The Sycamores have dropped each of their last two overtime contests.

Sycamores Against The Missouri Valley Football ConferenceIndiana State is in its 25th season as a member of the MVFC. ISU's first season as a league member came in 1986 when it went 1-5 through a six-game league schedule. The Sycamores are 40-113 in MVFC contests and had lost each of their last 21 league matchups before downing Western Illinois on Homecoming last season.

Up NextIt will be Homecoming on the Indiana State campus next week as the Sycamores host Illinois State at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:05 p.m. (ET).